Dress form



Aug. 25, 1970 I R. s. MASON; 3,525,458

v DRESS EQRM Filed Oct. 2, 1968 2 Shetsh-S'neet 1 INVENTORS ROBERT S. MASON LELA RUTH STEWART BY 14:10:: & 1421 Aug. 25, 1970 v s, M N ET AL 3,525,458

DRESS FORM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 2, 1968 [NVENTORS ROBERT S. MASON LELA RUTH STEWART 14mm & 14k

United States Patent 3,525,458 DRESS FORM Robert S. Mason, El Segundo, and Lela Ruth Stewart, San Diego, Calif.; said Stewart assignor to James S. Bush, Oakland, Calif.

Filed Oct. 2, 1968, Ser. No. 764,452 Int. Cl. A41h /00 US. Cl. 223-68 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The dress form has separate top and bottom sections, each of which can be sized to an individual figure, the sections being of resilient foam material and interfitting securely with an overlap to eliminate a gap at the waist line. A waist encircling cincher is fitted to the individual user, then applied to the form to shape the waist portion accurately. The basic bust is substantially fiat chested but complemented by separate pads configurated and held in place by the users own size-fitted bra'ssiere, thus ensuring accurate positioning and shaping. Provision is made for inserting internal padding within the form to match specific peculiarities of figure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to dressmaking aids and specifically to a dress form.

Dress forms have been made from many different materials and structural arrangements, but all have limitations in adjustment. The types which can be shaped most accurately to an individual figure usually have an outer sheath which is fitted to the figure in the manner of a garment, then placed over a resilient or inflatable core which fills out the sheath. However, considerable skill is necessary to prepare the sheath properly and the end result is still only an approximation of the figure, One particular area of inaccuracy in the usual dress form is the bust, which is rarely of proper shape and may not be correctly positioned to suit an individual. When making loose fitting garments, some discrepancies can be tolerated, but for close fitting garments the average dress form is unsatisfactory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The dress form described herein has separate top and bottom sections, each of which is selected from standard sizes to suit the individual user, both sections being of resilient foam material and interfitting securely. The basic form is thus reasonably close to the users figure and is easily adjusted. A waist encircling cincher is fitted to the user, a much simpler operation than fitting a tan torso sheath, and is applied to the form to shape the waist. The bust is formed by the users own size-fitted brassiere and separate pads applied on the basic form, thus ensuring proper shaping and positioning. Certain portions of the form can be filled out with internal padding if necessary, to provide a completely accurate representation of the users figure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the top section of the form;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom section;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view, partially sectioned, of the basic form;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the form with the waist cincher in place;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevation view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the bust portion; and

3,525,458 Patented Aug. 25, 1970 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The basic form comprises a top section 10 and a bottom section 12, both of resilient foam material, shaped to the general contours of the body, the foam permitting pinning of material to the form for convenience. For maximum versatility the top section would be made in about six standard bust sizes and the bottom section in the same number of standard hip sizes. Thus if the individual user is smaller or larger than normal in either the upper or lower torso, the proper section can be selected for the closest possible fit of the basic form.

Top section 10 has a downwardly extending integral core 14 similar in cross section to, but smaller than, the waist cross section of the top section, the core being a single standard size in all sizes of the form. Bottom section 12 is then a hollow shell-like element which fits around the core 14 and is secured and aligned with the top section. Top section 10 has a stepped front overlap portion 1-6 extending below the waist line and bottom section 12 has a stepped rear overlap portion 18 extending above the Waist line. The overlap portions interfit to make a lapped joint with no actual line of separation at the waist line, as in FIG. 3. To facilitate assembly the bottom section is slit vertically on the rear center line, as at 20 in FIG. 2, and is wrapped around the core -14. The core has a slight longitudinal taper, being larger at the lower end, to assist in holding the bottom section in place. The slit 20 is closed and the two sections are secured together by large wire staples 22, shown in several positions in FIG. 3. These are merely pressed into place and are satisfactorily held by friction in the foam material. While the major {portions of the two sections closely follow average body contours for their respective sizes, the waist portions are made slightly oversize. This permits proper shaping of the waist by compression of the foam material.

A tubular sleeve 24 extends vertically from the lower end of the core 14 to the neck 26 of the top section and can be molded into the foam material during forming. This sleeve provides rigidity to the dress form and also fits telescopically over the post 28 of a stand 30, on which the form is supported. A clamp screw 32 in the lower end of sleeve locks the dress form at any convenient working height.

The waist is shaped by a waist encircling cincher 34 of suitable fabric material, which is made in two similar halves joined at the rear by a full length non-adjustable fastening means such as hooks, snaps or a vertical zipper 36 and at the front by lacing 38. The lacing is threaded through spaced eyelets 40 in reinforced edges 42 of the cincher and permits adjustment to fit the users body. At the waist line a tubular seam 44 is stitched into each half of the cincher to contain a tie cord 46, which is fixed at the end adjacent the lacing and extends from the other end. The cincher is worn by the user and the lacing 38 is adjusted to fit, darts 48 being made as necessary above and below the Waist line for a perfect fit. By opening zipper 36 the cincher is then removed and placed on the dress form. A simple measurement taken over the shoulder to the waist line at front and back will ensure that the cincher is vertically positioned at the proper location. The waist portion and adjacent areas will thus be shaped to correspond accurately with the users figure, the unrestricted contour being indicated in broken line in FIG. 4.

If padding is necessary to match abnormal figure contours, shredded foam material can be inserted in the dress form. In the lower portion the padding is inserted between the core 14 and bottom section 12 where needed and will be retained securely by the foam material under pressure of the cincher. In the upper portion, padding can be inserted into a slit 50 provided in top section 10, the slit being made in the front overlap 16 to extend vertically up the front and branching substantially horizontally around to the sides, as in FIG. 7, and extending upwardly into the chest area.

If it is desired to use the form to make close fitting garments to be worn over a foundation garment which produces a pinched waist condition, this can be incorporated temporarily in the form by tightening and securing tie cords 46 to reduce the waist to the required measurement.

The basic top section 10 is substantially fiat chested and has no integrally formed bust, since this would prevent precise positioning of the bust portions. Instead, a brassiere 52, an exact replica of the users own preferred, size-fitted personal brassiere, is used. This is worn initially by the user and adjusted to suit. Separate, pre-shiftable bust pads 54, with substantially flat rear faces 56, are applied to the near-fiat chest portion 58 of the top section 10, as in FIGS. 3 and 6, and the brassiere 52 secured in place over the bust portions 54 to re-create a very accurate replica of the users form. For garments to be worn with a strapless brassiere, this type of brassiere may be used equally efficiently with the foresaid bust pads 54.

It will be evident that a wide variety of figures can be reproduced by the dress form. The separate top and bottom sections permit basic matching to an individual figure, whether average or not, and it has been found that a difference of as much as three standard sizes between top and bottom can be accommodated. Internal padding is easily applied where necessary and the waist and bust contours are transferred directly from the user to the form. Initial set up is simple compared to some forms and, once set, the form will retain the precise shaping. As an added advantage the dress form can quickly be changed to suit other individuals. If two or more individuals are near enough in size to use the same top and bottom sections, the change is made by merely changing the cincher and brassiere for others prefitted to the particular individual.

It is understood that minor variation from the form of the invention disclosed herein may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the specification and drawings are to be considered as merely illustrative rather than limiting.

We claim:

1. A dress form, comprising:

a resilient top section conforming to an upper torso of a specific size and a separate resilient bottom section conforming to a lower torso of a. specific size, said sections having overlapping portions interfitting substantially at the waistline;

and a girdle-like fabric material, prefitted to a users waist and adjacent contours, encircling the waist portion of said interfitting sections.

2. The dress form of claim 1, wherein said bottom section is a shell-like element and said top section has an integral core extending downwardly throughout the major portion of said shell-like element and fitting closely therewithin.

3. The dress form of claim 2, wherein said bottom section is thick preformed foam material vertically split to wrap around said core.

4. The dress form of claim 2 wherein the upper end of said downwardly extending core is of much smaller dimension than the lower end of said top section at the junction therewith, and said core is upwardly tapered to assure better retention of said shell-like bottom section thereon.

5. The dress form of claim 1, wherein said cincher extends both above and below a waist line portion thereof and has an adjustable tie cord around the waist line portion thereof.

6. The dress form of claim 1, wherein said cincher is composed of two similar panels, each extending both well above and below a waist line portion thereof and having adjustable lacing interconnecting the panels at the front and substantially non-adjustable fastening means interconnecting the panels at the back.

7. The dress form of claim 1, wherein the front portion of said top section has a padding receiving slit therein extending upwardly from the lower end thereof and branching to the sides.

8. The dress form of claim 1 wherein said top section is plain surfaced and flat chested and includes separate completely frely pre-positionable bust pads having substantially flat rear faces and a brassiere prefitted to a user and secured over said pads and top section after such prepositioning.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,158,895 5/1939 Brown 22368 2,284,965 6/1942 Palmer et al. 223-68 2,879,928 3/1959 Studdard 223"68 3,075,677 1/ 1963 Meisenberg 33368 3,191,821 6/1965 Levin et al 223--68 3,305,146 2/1967 Cram 223-68 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner 

